Social mobility briefing

Russell Group universities are working hard to improve social mobility.

Whatever their background, we want the most talented and able students to study with us. We believe passionately in the transformative power of higher education; a commitment to improving social mobility is deeply rooted in all our universities.

Russell Group universities are:

Investing significantly in widening access, increasing funding by 60% over the last five years for scholarships, fee waivers, bursaries and outreach activities aimed at the most disadvantaged.

Engaged in a wide range of activities designed to encourage successful applications from students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds: from mentoring, summer schools and campus visits, to sponsoring schools and providing CPD for teachers.

Working closely with schools and colleges: our universities make a positive impact on more than 8,000 schools across the UK every year, reaching hundreds of thousands of students.

Providing academic, pastoral and financial support for disadvantaged students to ease their transition to university, help them succeed in their studies and progress to work or further study.

Evaluating the success of their activities to build a strong evidence base and design interventions which will be highly effective, for example, in supporting specific groups of students.

Enhancing graduates’ life chances to have a real impact on their social mobility after they leave university.